Sports are one of the most popular pastimes for children all across the world. In a country as big as the United States, you can bet that there are children playing just about every type of sport throughout the year. Although it’s important to encourage children to live an active and healthy lifestyle, there are also certain risks that come along with playing amateur sports. The unfortunate reality is that millions of kids suffer from sports injuries each year in a variety of sports, and it’s important that you know what to do in the unfortunate event that it happens to your child.

Injuries in Youth Sports

According to the data, approximately 36,250,000 children participate in some sort of sport each year. Although many of these youths are participating in a sport through their school, approximately 60% also participate in a sport outside of school as well. Of the parents polled of these children, a startling 87% were concerned that their child(ren) would be injured in their sport of choice.

The unfortunate reality is that these parents have good reason to be concerned. We know more about concussions than ever before (even the Philadelphia Eagles kicker isn’t exempt), and more and more injuries are reported every year. In fact, of those 36,250,000 kids who are playing sports, approximately 2.6 million are treated in the emergency room each year. This doesn’t even include the injuries that aren’t treated in the emergency room. The most common types of injuries include sprains, strains, growth plate injuries, and repetitive motion injuries.

Aside from seeking proper treatment for these injuries, it’s also important for you to know the liability issues that come into play when a youth is injured in a sport.

Liability for Youth Sports Injuries

Although most injuries in youth sports are smaller injuries that go ignored, there is real concern over liability when talking about more significant injuries. In the event that you feel as though your child’s injury could have been prevented, you have the option to file a personal injury lawsuit. Filing a personal injury lawsuit means that you have to come to a conclusion about who is responsible for the injury. This could be a person, an organization, or various parties.

From your end of the lawsuit, you must prove how the other party was negligent or responsible in some way in your child’s injury. Depending on the events that transpired, you may be able to claim any of the following:

Lack of supervision

The equipment being used was faulty or inadequately protected your child

The employees in the facilities were improperly trained or mishandled the situation

The facilities were not properly maintained (wet floors, potholes, etc.)

The medical care that was provided on-site was not sufficient

Although there are various reasons as to why another party could be held liable, there is also an assumption of reasonable risk when participating in sports. Therefore, if your child experienced any sports injuries in the normal course of the game in a normal manner that could’ve happened to any other child in the same scenario, it will make it much more difficult for you to hold someone else responsible legally.

However, if the injury was a direct result of malicious behavior by another player in the game (an intentional act), and your child was injured as a result of that behavior, you may have grounds for legal action against the individual and their family.

It Never Hurts to Ask

If someone in your family has suffered from sports injuries and you feel that another party was responsible in some way, you may be entitled to financial compensation. However, it can be difficult to determine whether or not you have a case. That’s why we’re here. Contact the law office of Solnick & Associates, LLC at (215) 512-0039 to speak with a personal injury attorney today.

Solnick & Associates, LLC

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